PART 1: PINCH POTS

A discussion or the earilest known neolithic pottery pinch pots circa 6000 BC. Illustrating images are shown. Pictured above right: Early pot courtesy Kansas Historical Society. Students of all ages should experience this epoch by forming a cup with no tools. (Please note: Self-Hardening clay products are not considered food-safe. Cups made of Self Hardening Clay are decorative only.)

PART 1.B

Discussion of how the first firings of pottery were, in all likelihood, accidental as early cups fell into campfires. Advanced students can try this with Wood Light Clay and a simple pit fire.

PART 2: COIL BUILDING

A discussion of the coil building technique and primitive tools. Students are instructed to roll out their clay into long snakes. Coiled pot shapes are made. Students may then be given simple tools such as wooden rulers. Advanced students are required to make a primitive smoothing tool from found objects. Coiled pots are then smoothed with tool and wet hands.

PART 3: MANIPULATIVE DECORATION

Analogus to art history, the quickest builders in your class will naturally begin to decorate their pots with their tools while the slower builders are still forming their shape. This mimics thousands of years of historical development. Discuss how agriculture enabled “free-time,” allowing the evolution of pottery from purely utilitarian forms to one incorporating artistic expression. Show images of carved pottery such as the shard shown right from the Ohio Historical Society. Remaining time can be used to allow all students to decorate their coil-built pot by pressing and carving into their clay. Pots are left to dry overnight (or longer)